Can top VCs hire almost any employee they want for their portfolio companies?

There’s little a VC can do to convince someone to go and work for one of their portfolio companies that the company couldn’t do itself. They might hear about good candidates through their networks, but that candidate will still have plenty of other opportunities to chose from.

VCs are often better positioned than their portfolio companies in helping to find candidates for senior executive roles, simply because early-stage companies are unlikely to have already made the kind of connections they’ll need to fill those roles.

It’s still up to the company to convince, evaluate and close the hire.